Friday, December 18, 2015

FFB Review: "Dead Soldiers: Carl Burns Mystery Series" by Bill Crider

Friday means
Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott on her blog. This is the final FFB post
until January 15, 2016 as Patti is taking a posting break. I think the rest of
us loyal minions will be taking the break as well. The 15th is also
Richard Prather day for FFB thanks to Barry Ergang so most of the reviews that day
will be on Prather books. I have a Prather book here via Barry, but I don’t
know if I will get it read in time.

It seems fitting
that on this final Forgotten Books Friday of 2015 I am tying off the last book
of a series. The Carl Burns Mystery
Series by Bill Crider is a good one. A series that ended way too soon after
four books with Dead Soldiers. While
I got my hardback read via my local library, it has been available in e-book
version since January 2013 thanks to Crossroad Press. The same is true of the earlier
books in the series.

Hardback

Professor Carl Burns knows that a
call from the dean is never good news. It usually signals trouble of some sort.
Dean Partridge has proven to be no exception to the rule though in this case it
was not her who called. Instead, it was her secretary who informed
Professor Burns that the dean wanted to see him immediately. Either way, a
summons from the dean is ominous.

Burns
can’t figure out what he did this time to get himself summoned, but it wouldn’t
have had to be his doing at Hartley Gorman College in South Texas. It could
have been somebody in his English department who ran afoul of one rule or
another. It could be because a student filed a complaint over
something. Burns knows full well that he isn’t Dean Partridge’s favorite
person by a long shot, but what has gone on in recent years wasn’t really Burn’s
fault. He just got dragged into a murder investigation or two and a few
other things. Professor Burns has a bit of a reputation at the college and
beyond as many of the residents of the small town of Pecan City know he has
helped local law enforcement. Most of the stuff happened long before Dean Partridge
got there though there was that incident with her goat.

Once he gets to her office, Burns
quickly realizes that it his crime solving reputation that she had in mind when
Dean Gwendolyn Partridge sent for him. She collects toy soldiers. Her collection
of miniature military figures is worth a lot of money. Somebody took six
figures during a recent party she had at her house. While Burns does not like
or trust her goat, he probably is not the responsible party. The culprit is a
two footed human that was at a party that Burns had not been asked to attend.

The party was to celebrate the honor
students at the college. In addition to the honor students, also in attendance
were important people such as local civic leaders and/or donors.News of the theft, if it was made known to
the public by local media, would bring unfavorable publicity to the college. Nobody
wants that to happen again as there has been more than enough of unfavorable
publicity.

Dean Partridge wants Burns, because
of his track record of solving previous mysteries, to very discreetly poke
around and find out who took her soldiers. Beyond the problem of the suspect
list being about 100 names is the problem that even the local police chief,
Boss Napier, is on the list. A suspect that is a rival for a certain librarian’s
affection. Chief Napier isn’t pleased that the dean dragged him into the
situation regarding her toy soldiers. Especially since of them has just been
found by the body of Mathew Hart who used to work at HGC. Hart used to be a
professor years ago and was pretty much universally despised by students and
staff.

Paperback

Napier wants Burns to stay out of
the way which suits Burns fine. But, the murder of Mathew Hart stirs up the
campus. Even though Burns tries to stay out of things, gradually one thing
leads to another and before long he is being shot at and worse. He even
has to play in a softball game against the students. After all, the game must
go on because if it does not the terrorists have won.

Fourth in the Carl Burns Mystery Series, Dead
Soldiers is another very satisfying read. Originally published by Five Star
Books in 2004 and now again available via the e-book format from Crossroads
Press, the tale does not follow the current fad of dropping a body in the first
three paragraphs. Instead, author Bill Crider sets the table with some
background before Burns learns of the first body. Like the other books this
series, the world of academia takes center stage as the author follows the
classic dictum of “write what you know” while putting a very enjoyable spin on
things.

Dead Soldiers is the final installment of the very good Carl
Burns mystery series. While it would be best to read in order starting
with One
Dead Dean, then moving on to Dying
Voices, and then to …
A Dangerous Thing, one could safely read this mystery first as
events in earlier books are only briefly alluded to in the read. Along with the
core mystery, humor and other touches by author Bill Crider make this mystery
as well as the entire series well worth your time.

I have to buy all the books in this series since I loved the Truman Smith series, and the one Burns short story that I got to read; in the book "Night Time is the Right Time." That book is a compilation of absolutely fabulous short stories. I also loved all the Dan Rhodes books I read, and "We'll always Have Murder",the Humphrey Bogart mystery, Great stuff!

Kevin's Corner

Sandi's Cancer Fight Is Over

Thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and support for the past six years plus as Sandi did everything she could to be here with all of us. She is now free and not hurting anymore. I am still trying to pay off her past treatments at Medical City Dallas Hospital as well as at Texas Oncology. While the hospital can't handle direct donations, if you can help and would prefer to donate directly, please contact Debra, the financial counselor at TEXAS ONCOLOGY in SUITE 220 of Building D at Medical City Dallas Hospital in Dallas, Texas. We thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and support for the past six years plus as Sandi did everything she could to be here with all of us.